Gatekeepers Book 1: Darkness

Announcement

Before Draycos knew it, a month had quickly passed by as he stayed in Poseidon's office, learning to read and write in the dragons' native language. Even though they claimed that their little script from before was a joke, Draycos remained on high alert while Zero was near him, always keeping his distance from the blue dragon. There was one moment that he could've sworn Zero's hand was reaching for a questionable area, and he reacted violently.

That night, Zero had to attend another council meeting to discuss the plan which Theravor brought up at last month's council meeting.

"What the hell happened to you?" Vinzgar asked when Zero joined the rest of the council already gathered at the table. Zero was sporting a black eye and a bruised snout covered with a few bandages.

Zero sighed, and then winced in pain from his bruised snout. "I was trying to lighten the mood while teaching Draycos the Dragonscript earlier, but he didn't take to it very kindly. I didn't have time to stop to get a fairy to heal it on my way here after today's lesson with him.

The other dragons sitting at the table glanced at one another uncomfortably. They had all heard about the joke Zero and Poseidon pulled on Draycos last month and his response to it.

Theravor tapped the tabletop as he examined Zero. "You played off of that joke from last month, didn't you?" he guessed. "Poseidon made me aware of the fact that Draycos did give you fair warning. Draycos isn't at fault for you ignoring that."

"So, you mean he had full rights to punch the hell outta me?" Zero growled. Everyone at the table nodded in unison as a response.

"I'd advise that you stop with that weird sense of humor for the moment," Theravor told him. "All you're doing is irritating the lad, and that could cause the exact problem we're all trying to avoid."

"Fine, I get it," Zero groaned as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing the black eye. "I'll stop for real now. Although it is pretty amusing to see such a serious human react that strongly to the assumed situation I put him in. It's not worth getting punched over for, though; man, that kid throws a heavy punch, if nothing else."

"Speaking of, have we all finally come to a conclusion about the proposal I brought up last month? The one that would allow Draycos to get enough combat skill and experience to be of use to us in searching for the stolen Orb?" Theravor questioned.

The room was silent again as everyone exchanged looks with their neighbors, muttering quietly. It was Vinzgar who was the first to nod his head.

"I think I'm actually on the same page with you for once, Stormfang," he admitted. "'That event' would certainly allow the half-breed to get in some combat experience, but that would all depend on him. If the brat fails, then we're back to square one. We're putting an awful lot of faith in a creature that we barely even know; we don't even know if he'll be useful in digging up information on the Orb at all, either."

"We don't really have many other options to choose from at this point," Boreta added, folding her thin hands together as she placed her elbows on the table, deep in thought. "This past month, we have discovered nothing pertaining to the Orb of the First King and its current whereabouts. Draycos is still our only clue; we might as well use the one clue to find more clues."

"That still doesn't mean that the half-breed will be able to find anything for us," Vinzgar countered, looking somewhat worried.

"Can I say something?" Zero spoke up, raising a hand. When he had gotten everyone's attention he continued. "After teaching Draycos Dragonscript over the last month, I have a fair idea on what his feelings are about his supposed crime. He's resolved to put an end to this whole incident and move on." Zero glanced over at Vinzgar. "Anyone with the amount of resolve he has is bound to make at least some progress if he is given the opportunity to do things himself instead of waiting on others."